Monday Already?

Yesterday's rock pile ride was a bag of mixed feelings.
I met-up with my ol' buddy at his house as planned, and we hit the trails after just a couple of minutes.
He had told me during the week that he wanted me to show him the trail loop I'd been riding, and even though I felt that he wouldn't like it since he was riding a big, heavy bike that wasn't the best tool for that kind of rocky going, I did as he asked.

So, for the first half of our Sunday ride together, he followed me around the 40 mile loop.
Did I enjoy it?
Not really.
As I expected, I had to stop frequently to allow him to catch-up, otherwise he's probably take a wrong turn and lose me.
Not that my ol' buddy can't ride (even though I believe he was a bit rusty at first due to not riding off-road much this past year), but because his bike is about as heavy as a real dirt bike gets, and a big bike like that is way more of a liability out there in the rock pile than an advantage, he had to work his ass off and basically bite his fingernails every time we came upon a rocky uphill or downhill, of which there are many.
That's simply how the trail loop is.

Another reason he had to work at it is because of his tires.
Even though he has a decent-condition used one on the front and a brandy-new one on the rear, he felt compelled to blow them up like balloons with twice the recommended off-road air pressure of 25 psi.
This severely reduces traction while on the trail, and will, to a large degree, negate the added traction of new tires.
They simply won't be able to work as intended at such high air pressure.

Why did he do this?
Because he's stubborn, basically.
His reasoning was that it would reduce tire wear while on the pavement.
My view is this makes no sense whatsoever, being that off-road traction will be so severely compromised, and I think he should just accept the wear you will get from use on pavement.
To me, this is like buying a brand-new hang glider and then slicing big holes in the wings in order to save weight - you just messed-up how your hang glider is supposed to work.

So, after we completed the loop (which was taken at a reduced pace because I knew my ol' buddy was back there struggling with his behemoth), he took the lead and led me down some trails that he knows and likes.
As I expected, they were much smoother and easier to ride.
The catch was that the reason they were smoother was because they see much less traffic down them, and the reason for that is because they aren't even motorcycle-approved trails to begin with.
That's right:
We shouldn't have even been on them in the first place, according to the big shots making the rules for guys riding dirt bikes in the Pachaug rock pile.

But, since my ol' buddy is as stubborn as a mule, telling him how you feel about that is just asking for some lip and/or an argument.
While the trails were in nice condition, knowing that I wasn't allowed on them was always on my mind.
To be quite honest, when we finally called it quits for the day, I was glad our ride was over with, and in hindsight, I have to say that I have more fun out there when on my own, doing my own thing, and riding where and how fast or slow as I like.
My ol' buddy is an honest guy who would never screw you over and is very respectful of other people in day-to-day situations, but, I don't feel like riding with him next weekend, either.
I'm not gonna' lie.
Basically, I'm so glad we got that tire change and ride out of the way.

The total mileage for the day was 96.7 miles, over twice my usual for a Sunday ride.
I washed the bike up squeaky-clean as soon as I got home, too.
I'm looking forward to next Sunday's rock pile ride, already, and I think I'll incorporate a trail or two that we rode down yesterday (these are legal trails, too).
I remember these trails from back in the day when we'd ride the whole 65-mile loop, they're not too rocky (a rarity out there), and it'll be nice to do something different.

Off to jerk,
-John